Amazon penalized over pricing practices

The online retailer has agreed to pay a million dollars to the Competition Bureau...following a two year investigation.

The bureau found Amazon was posting list prices given to them by their suppliers without ever checking to make sure they were accurate.

The issue here is - consumers may have thought they were saving a lot more than they actually were after comparing the list price and Amazon's sale price.

Bruce Winder, the co-founder of the Retail Advisors Network, thinks the million dollar penalty given to Amazon sounds like a drop in the bucket.

"It sounds reasonably low. I believe several years ago one retailer had an issue with Winter tires and paid $5 million [in penalties.]"

He says retailers, such as Amazon, have to be very careful. "Manufacturers often set a suggested retail price which is a price they really wish the market would clear at but, in reality, isn't that high."

Amazon has already begun to make changes, including making sure to validate the prices given to them by suppliers.